Category: Small Business Marketing

Consultant in Marketing Design, Stephane Bertoux is a specialist in mass market consumer and retail, for which he was a consultant for twenty years (3M, BASF, Carrefour, Masterlock …).It is also the author of iPhone application TheBrandGenerator.http://www.thebrandgenerator.com

The Apple Store – 6 facts about marketing strategy for iPhone Apps.

The App Store (which sells application for iPhone and iTouch) is a great business model for Apple, of course, which holds a global distribution network, integrated, with no storage costs or purchases from suppliers software (Apple surrenders a percentage of amounts paid by buyers).

There is currently no verified models, each one launched their apps into the market a little groping, by changing its pricing practice and its strategy days after days.

A key question that arises is the use of free application, to attract consumers and then switch to full versions, paid. The other issue is the level of price elasticity with respect to what the consumer is willing to pay.

In response, the analogy of the Hypermarket, the Nescafé and China seems to be the best way to understand how this market works.

1- Fact 1. Not seen, not sold. The hypermarket’s rules applies to the AppleStore.The Apple Store (80 000 references) is a large hypermarket. With shelves and products inside. The consumer comes through the door of the App Store, and then visits the various departments: Games, Business, Comics, Books, Education ….At the entrance of each department, at the head of the shelves, the Best Sellers. In the department, we find first the good sellers. And after, the low sellers. The more sales declines, the more they go to the bottom of the shelves.

2- Fact 2. New market, new products, new consumers : new ways to buy.An Hypermarket in China. Why in China? There, consuming is very recent. And our Chinese friends are like all of us in the Apple Store.We are just walking there, we look, we discover, we buy a little. We take our time reading labels in the products. By discovering a whole bunch of stuff that we did not know before. Or things that we knew, but presented differently packaged. And many promotion girls, so pretty, giving us for free to test and to taste new food.

3- Fact 3. Promotion or not promotion, that’s the question !And Nescafe? Coffee is a new product in China, which is marked by high statut level. I drink coffee, I am modern, as an American. Furthermore it is expensive, I can afford. And coffee is both virile and gives good health, it makes walking neurons more efficiently. Nescafe is experiencing a strong success in China, thanks to a very important advertising investment and a massive presence of facilitators in the stores to promote coffe.

You are therefore in a hypermarket in Shanghai in the aisle which passes the department of coffee. At the department entrance, a nice promotion girl of the Nescafe brand, white shirt, red vest, black skirt : she awaits behind his booth.

4- Fact 4. Promotion can be only brand communication. Are brands so important in the AppStore?You walk past her, she offers a smile to taste a cup. If you have a bit hungry, time, or you’re stingy, you will take the cup and drink. That’s all. And you will buy the brand you want and maybe even ground coffee.

If you are already a consumer of Nescafe (and you’re hungry, thirsty …), you take the cup. You will find it’s nice from your brand to give you a small unexpected gift, and to share with others my brand, and this gives you self-value (self-enhancement: “My brand gives gift to everyone, it’s really a nice brand, my brand”). Maybe you will think that there is not so much coffee at home and you will buy one. And if it was on the shopping list … you would have bought anyway.

And if you do not like coffee: zero effect.You did not even saw the promoter.

5- Fact 5. Viral marketing and on store promotion : when the promotion kills the viral communication.You are a Chinese countryman which has just arrived in town.You learn plenty, you’ve never seen so many things, strange things which you had no idea. Yet it is written in Chinese, yet you do not understand well. You see the girl with her cup, coffee is written. What’s the coffee? Something for long-nose, certainly, it must be disgusting, it’s complicated, what’s the point? So complicated that you dare not even get close to the girl, you’re afraid of being thought a fool.

You get back into your construction camp, where 15 of your mates housed during construction. One of your neighbors offers you a of coffee, but before explaining you how to drink it, when, and why it’s good, and even it gives status! When you will hit your pay, you will buy it, and bring it back to the village, to show that you are not anymore a peasant.

If by cons you tasted the coffee offered by the demonstrator, because she was pretty, you would immediately spat out: “Bouah, what’s that thing wich stinks vomit? Another devilish long-nose thing ! ” And returned to barracks you have told your friend: “You drink this yucky stuff you? I tasted, it’s not for me!”

Nescafe is relatively expensive for a Chinese, but because it’s a good product and well done. There are now Chinese brands, although cheaper, certainly not so good (the consumer thinks as it’s cheaper, it’s worst). Nestlé can sell much cheaper, but they will have no longer the ressources to do so much communication. And the margin will decline dramatically (this is not a linear curve).

6- Fact 6. Have an adapted strategy with the apps kinds.All this applies perfectly to the App Store: to offer a free test is a good strategy, if the apps is a simple and know concept (a racing game), and if there is a strong competitive environment. Communication will help with offering consumers little more (tips, tutorial,…)For a product more complicate, new for the consumer: it will not work, there is even a risk to kill the product by a negative buzz.

Having a low price is necessary if it is a staple stuff, with great competition. If the apps has some interesting functions or marketing differences, then the consumer will be willing to pay the price.

And the consumer will be a product ambassador, as he has paid a “good” price an application that he will use it, and being it’s own demonstrator.

Many network marketers fall into the trap of right off the bat telling people about how wonderful their products are and that they are the best in the world. What I am telling you is that this is the absolute worst way to advertise your network marketing products or opportunity. There are three basic keys to successful network marketing promotion which when properly integrated into your marketing will enable you to finally take off in your business.

The first step to successful network marketing promotion is to not promote how great your products are, people don’t care. That is the honest truth. No matter how great your product is or how great your opportunity is people dont want to hear about it. Think about how much information and advertisement you see during the day. We have all become accustomed to tuning out advertisements. We hear all the time about how this product is the absolute best or this one will revolutionize the industry. How many of them do you actually listen to?

Instead, think about yourself and your products and company as a solution to people’s problems. Simply put, people have problems and want solutions to their problems. What they do care about is that they have a problem. They are tired, they feel sick all the time, moody, they might get colds all the time. They don’t want to feel sleepy anymore in the afternoon. Their kids have bad asthma and cough all the time and the doctors have put them on medication. Think of what your target market is and whatever their problem is, think about how you can provide them a solution. Position yourself and let people know that you offer a solution, people will come to you. This is known as marketing.

What you want to do is position yourself as a solution to their problem, a solution to them being sick, a solution to them feeling tired all the time, etc. Position yourself and let them know what kinds of solutions you can provide. Get the word out that you can provide this kind of solution. Then they will get interested and listen to what you have to say. They will start to naturally come to you.

The three keys to successful network marketing promotion are to remember three things: Never directly promote your products, think of yourself as a solution to people’s problems, and position yourself as a solution to people’s problems. There are other excellent ways to be successful in network marketing, but these three ideas will create the right mindset for your organization to explode.

A common question business owners have is, “how much money should I spend for marketing and advertising?” Experts have offered general guidelines for budgeting such as the percentage of sales, objective and task, or competitive parity methods; but since every business situation is different, a hard and fast rule does not exist. One often-cited consideration is the Return on Investment, or ROI. However, if ROI was reliable and could be accurately measured, the answer would be obvious – spend every available dollar on marketing and advertising, then one would expect to recover the investment plus a healthy return. The reality is that one simply cannot spend oneself into prosperity; instead, businesses allocate scarce resources to marketing and advertising programs with the hope and expectation of a reasonable ROI.

Once the investment is made, return can be calculated from the resulting increase in sales revenue; but there are two important intervening metrics to consider:

1) The increase in traffic in the form of visitors to the store, or inbound phone calls; and,

2) The percentage of new traffic that is converted into sales.

The first metric, the increase in traffic, is important because it is the most direct measure of the effectiveness of marketing and advertising efforts, and it can be used to calculate the cost of each new prospective customer (i.e. how much is spent on marketing and advertising to have one new person come to the store or call). When a business is able to put a hard dollar value on each prospective customer that walks in the door and every inbound phone call, those rather routine events begin to take on increasing importance. For example, a ringing phone is more likely to be treated as an opportunity rather than an annoyance when one realizes the company had to invest $20, $100, or even $500 or more to generate that call.

The second metric, conversions into new sales, is important because if interested prospects cannot be converted into sales, any investment in marketing and advertising is wasted (i.e. how effectively are interested prospects led to a buying decision). When a prospective customer responds to an advertisement or promotion, they are generally ready to buy. However, these prospective customers usually need some help to make their ultimate buying decision. A little bit of effort can go a long way to closing a sale, increasing a sale, establishing a relationship, and earning a long-term customer; but indifference or neglect, or even the perception of indifference or neglect, can ruin the opportunity. This is especially true for inbound phone calls. For example, when a business receives a call from a prospective customer and places that call on hold to transfer the call, gather information for the caller, finish a conversation with another customer, or for any other reason, the tendency is for that caller to want to hang up. However, steps can be taken to control that tendency, reduce the number of hang-ups, increase the percentage of sales, and increase the dollar value of each sale.

Taking advantage of the time callers spend on hold by providing a program that reinforces and supports the company’s overall marketing message will decrease hang-ups by up to 40%, effectively stretching every dollar spent on marketing and advertising. Moreover, callers who are responding to advertising or promotions are already receptive to the message. In fact, they are calling to hear more about the products and services the company has to offer, and 20% of callers surveyed admit they have made a buying decision based on information they heard while on hold. On hold messaging works, and it can be one of the most potent tools a company has to get the most out of every dollar spent on marketing and advertising.

At long last! A grocery store finally did something different to set itself apart from the wave of food advertisements that engulf my mailbox every week.

While sorting through Wednesday’s mail, a circular from Fresh & Easy – a chain of neighborhood markets that recently opened here in Phoenix – grabbed my attention.

Adorning the cover were three slices of filet mignon nestled on a bed of fresh greens and cheese risotto, topped with a perfectly placed sprig of rosemary. This tummy-tempting image was a welcome change from the boring food items and oversized prices usually displayed in supermarket mailers.

Teaser text such as “Inside: Burger Time!” and “No-fuss entertaining” on the Fresh & Easy cover created a little curiosity. In the upper-right corner, a headline promised a “Romantic dinner made easy” (an excellent idea with Valentine’s Day approaching). Unless you’re an absolute rookie in the kitchen, you can quickly figure out that the four items under the headline come together to form the pictured steak dinner.

From a promotional perspective, I appreciate how Fresh & Easy uses their mailers to market an end-result. Instead of simply displaying a random assortment of food items for sale, you’re shown a simple, four-ingredient “recipe” that – when combined – creates a complete meal.

Many companies market without giving prospects any direction. Fresh & Easy, however, shows you exactly what they want you to do. The message is simple: If you buy the four items (not just one) displayed on the cover, you’ll be rewarded with an appetizing meal. The proof is in the picture!

What’s more, the idea that this process is simple is reinforced multiple times. Not only does the headline use the word “easy,” the term is also a part of the grocer’s name.

We are a culture that craves things quick and with minimal effort. Fresh & Easy targets prospects’ desire for instant gratification – and so should you.

One other cover item worth noting is how Fresh & Easy displays a unique characteristic that sets itself apart from competitors:

No need for loyalty cards or product coupons. These are our everyday low prices.

Consumers are selfish; they want to know why it’s beneficial for them to use your product or service. Fresh & Easy gives you two reasons why in bold type right on its advertisement.

Sure, this is just one advertisement. But I think Fresh & Easy is well on its way to being a powerful presence in Phoenix’s crowded supermarket landscape. The company is a bit different … and that’s a good thing.

NOTE: As you’ve probably determined by now, I study my mail. In fact, I don’t mind receiving what some people might consider junk mail. These valuable pieces of marketing magic give me an opportunity to study the promotional efforts of companies from around the globe. Best of all, I never have to leave my house or spend a single cent.

Did you ever think a free education in marketing was inside your mailbox?

Before the advent of the personal computer, information technology was priced beyond small business and individuals for the most part. Small businesses had to work long hours beyond dealing with their primary business in order to do accounting, order supplies, organize marketing efforts, deal with payroll, taxes, etc. or pay someone else to do these tasks. Either way, it was a commitment of time or money or both that could have been spent on building the primary business.

Even though the personal computer has been around for a relatively short time in our history, the impact has been enormous. There are currently just over 1.5 billion computer users in the world. This is incredible when we realize that 15 years ago there were less than a million.

One of the benefits of the age of personal computers has been in helping in the productivity of small business. With the current economic crises, many large businesses are struggling or going under. Once rock solid companies with stock valuations of 50, 60 or even 100 dollars have seem their stocks trading for under one dollar. Amazingly, during this time, small business is becoming the true backbone of the economy. Last year, seventy percent of small businesses reported a profit.

One of the components of small business success can be attributed to the diversity of software available to perform the once mundane tasks that kept the small business entrepreneurs from doing what they do best: growing their chosen business. Another factor has been the branching out of business to the Internet. While there are many businesses functioning exclusively on the Internet, there are few regular brick and mortar businesses which do not have some sort of website; even if only a homepage.

With the influx of business entrepreneurs streaming on to the Internet they are discovering that success on the Internet requires a different set of strategies than those needed in a traditional business. These new strategies include different ways of building a customer base, advertising and marketing, receiving payments and not only promoting their product but also their website.

Fortunately we are entering into a new era. Businesses on the Internet do not need to wait on the Microsoft’s of the world to build big, expensive and generic software. Today talented programmers are creating their own small businesses and developing software to boost the efforts, profitability and productivity of entrepreneurs who have decided to join the World-Wide Web. Here is an example of the types of tasks many of today’s software is being used to accomplish:

“Shopping carts and secure sales

“Integration of payment systems

“Handling e-mail campaigns

“Submitting articles to promote business

“Creating sales letters

“Building Content

“Creating articles

“Creating ads

“Incorporating video and audio on a website

“Profiting from Ebay

“Making blogs and blog content

These are just examples of many of the various types of software applications available to help anyone become a successful entrepreneur on the Internet. To build a successful business on the Internet requires more than an idea or product but also patience and hard work. Fortunately there are many software products designed specifically for Internet business to help make some of that hard work a lot easier.